Comments on: Hands on a Hard Body

Hands on a Hard Body

acro — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:31:19 -0800

"It's a human drama thing." This is a documentary film about a group of people in Texas who enter a competition to win a new "hardbody" pickup truck, merely by keeping one hand on the truck the longest. (via Kottke via waxy)

More background to the competition, which is no longer run, due to a tragedy which occurred in 2005.

By: nevercalm

nevercalm — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:43:31 -0800

I'd be amazed if this wasn't a double. Great movie though, and strange that it would suddenly pop up on the goog.

By: fourcheesemac

fourcheesemac — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:45:40 -0800

Even stranger, I made an FPP yesterday about sex at the olympics which I entitled "Hands on a Hard Body." Ten years old, and any serious fan of American documentary film has probably seen it, but it was an excellent film. (And East Texas is really some other planet despite resembling Earth.)

By: First Post

First Post — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:45:49 -0800

Longview native Matthew McConaghey helped get this film made, as I recall. It's sort of a crazy town even by Texas standards though. Wonder if they still have that drive-through daiquiri place there?

By: mippy

mippy — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:47:17 -0800

This was on UK TV a while back - not the documentary, but the concept, as a light entertainment game show. It was called 'Touch The Truck.' It was presented by Dale Winton.

By: Bromius

Bromius — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:47:46 -0800

Robert Altman was all set to start production on a dramatic adaptation of this before his death. Alas!

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:47:47 -0800

I think it's been out of print on dvd for a while so it doesn't surprise me it's appearing on Google.

By: onlyconnect

onlyconnect — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:50:02 -0800

One of the oldest "This American Life" episodes I remember listening to was the piece done on "Hands on a Hardbody." I think it was on one of their first dvds.

By: cortex

cortex — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:51:35 -0800

It's been mentioned a few times in comments (usually re: good or entertaining documentaries), but never been the subject of a post. Mefi's own bradth27 participated once.

By: Debaser626

Debaser626 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:53:43 -0800

Wow. Had seen the documentary. Had no clue that the 2005 incident had happened. That's a helluva update. My favorite part of the documentary is the guy who relates buying the A/C unit off of a nearby Kmart (same one, maybe?) and attaching it to his house... A personal wish of mine.

By: Hildegarde

Hildegarde — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:15:50 -0800

Wow, I haven't heard that story in ten years. I think I listened to it on the This American Life cd while on the greyhound from Boston to Toronto in 1998. What's old is new again!

By: spiderwire

spiderwire — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:17:05 -0800

My favorite part of the documentary is the guy who relates buying the A/C unit off of a nearby Kmart (same one, maybe?) and attaching it to his house... A personal wish of mine. I think that's a personal wish of everybody who lives in Texas, except for the people who don't think that would be enough.

By: cashman

cashman — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:32:58 -0800

My favorite part, unless I'm thinking of a different production or article, is one of the winners describes the serious hallucinations you start having after staying awake for an extended period of time. Like you flat out start seeing things that are just not there.

By: strangeleftydoublethink

strangeleftydoublethink — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:33:08 -0800

** spoiler ** My favorite part of the documentary was the Christian woman who listened to Christian music/tapes to inspire her to stay strong. She was doing well until she got so inspired she lifted both hands toward the heavens...

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:38:34 -0800

One of the oldest "This American Life" episodes I remember listening to was the piece done on "Hands on a Hardbody." I think it was on one of their first dvds. It was. Here's the "This American Life episode covering the Hands on a Hardbody documentary.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:41:42 -0800

Glad to see that this has finally popped up online, especially since secondhand copies are quite expensive.

By: Senor Cardgage

Senor Cardgage — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:45:01 -0800

21:30 - Yokel contestant invokes Highlander. "There can be only one (y'all)"

By: Caduceus

Caduceus — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:58:06 -0800

I remember watching at least part of this documentary a few years back. Weird thing is that I'm positive I watched it for a college course, but I'll be damned if I can remember what course it was. My opinions of East Texas developed by watching the documentary have not changed significantly in the intervening years.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:58:41 -0800

Yokel contestant For shame. That you would use such an epithet to describe the great Benny Perkins shows that you have learned nothing from his story.

By: louche mustachio

louche mustachio — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:27:29 -0800

We'll see what transgresses. This is good. See it if you haven't.

By: monkeystronghold

monkeystronghold — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:41:13 -0800

I always lump this documentary and Hell House together (along with their respective This American Life episodes) to form some magical vision of Texas that was cut out of that David Byrne movie True Stories. Texas is weird.

By: Senor Cardgage

Senor Cardgage — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:42:48 -0800

There is a grand total of seven teeth in this entire movie.

By: bukharin

bukharin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:52:40 -0800

Well, my hometown finally made the blue. Almost everyone in town thought this was the dumbest thing they'd ever heard. And in Longview, that's saying a lot.

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:56:34 -0800

It was called 'Touch The Truck.' It was presented by Dale Winton. It made Charlie Brooker quit TVGoHome (on the basis that real telly programmes had become more ludicrous than his made up ones).

By: zardoz

zardoz — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:01:42 -0800

I saw this in Seattle back in its original release. Great, great documentary. The best part was the redneck contestant who, in all seriousness, recalled a line from his "favorite movie" Highlander: "There can be only one." Reminded me of Stephen King's "The Long Walk". In a way.

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:02:59 -0800

That was excellent.

By: fourcheesemac

fourcheesemac — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:07:56 -0800

Spoiler______ALERT [this space meant to keep you from reading on -- and hey, zardoz, I *also* saw this movie in a theater in Seattle in 1997 in premier. Fancy that. ] I know a lot of guys like that redneck. He drinks and smokes, he's older than the others, he pooh poohs the fancy strategies of his fellow contestants, and just declares he's going to win the truck. As soon as he said that, I knew who was going to win. What doesn't kill an East Texas redneck makes them stronger. Bank on it.

By: sharksandwich

sharksandwich — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:22:26 -0800

IIRC they did this years ago in Milwaukee with contestants trying to win a boat. It was held outside. It was cold. Contestants got frostbite. Hahaha.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:45:53 -0800

We had in gym class a sort of contest like this. Everyone sat with their back against the wall and their knees bent at a 90 degree angle. You held that position until you failed to hold it anymore, and last one remaining won. I remember I desparately wanted to win and don't for the life of me remember if I held out to do so, but that feeling of gradually, helplessly losing control of your body was indelible. Later, I have read the AVH used similar "games" as a form of torture. I felt like I could understood it a little bit.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:28:35 -0800

This is one of my favorite documentaries. A team of Hollywood screenwriters couldn't create a better cast. This ran at the Dobie Theater in Austin for over a year. Everytime someone came into town, it would be 1. the Salt Lick 2. Amy's on Sixth and 3. "Hands on a Hardbody." I have it on DVD and watch it at least once a year. GO BABY GO.

By: nola

nola — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:33:03 -0800

This is great, thanks for posting.

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:45:44 -0800

The remarkable thing about this documentary is how each of the finalists fit into a specific archetype. Experienced. Superfit. Desperate. Stubborn. Religious. I thought it was an important life lesson that stubbornness trumps all.

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:52:15 -0800

Shoot. 150 horses? Okay!

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:52:49 -0800

(sorry the punning is so forced)

By: acro

acro — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:37:44 -0800

GO BABY GO

By: bradth27

bradth27 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:11:20 -0800

I still have my copy on VHS - and yes, I participated, years ago. Lost. Longview is actually pretty decent town - and I find it quite humorous that the documentary takes great pains not to show how large the town actually is. From the video, you would think it's some tiny little ghost town in the middle of nowhere, with a cow pasture right beside the dealership. Actually, it's a thriving town of around 80,000 - large by East Texas standards. I have a few family members that live there, and I grew up just down the road a piece.

By: bradth27

bradth27 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:31:55 -0800

And East Texas is really some other planet despite resembling Earth You're right. When I moved away and lived in California for a while, I forgot what East Texas was like. 2 years later, I returned - and noticed complete strangers were waving at me on the road. People left their cars running at the gas station while they went in. Lots of people don't even lock their doors at night - including most of my family. And when you break down on the road, people actually stop to help. Yes, like some other planet entirely. I moved away years ago, and I still miss it.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:44:52 -0800

Ooh. I've been trying to watch this for a long time. Thanks!

By: spamguy

spamguy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:37:17 -0800

The article from the Longview paper was so poorly written it actually confused me more than helped. Small town journalism FTW!

By: Halloween Jack

Halloween Jack — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:10:58 -0800

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal a while ago (no citation, sorry) about someone who was a professional Hands on a Hard Body contestant; he was really good at staying awake as long as he needed to, and he'd go anywhere that was holding a contest, stay there for a while (once word got out about this guy, contest promoters put in residency rules, but he'd just move there far enough ahead of time to qualify), and he'd sell the fresh-off-the-lot vehicles at a slight discount and still earn a decent living. He could even afford to hire an assistant to massage his legs during the five-minute break. You know, the more I think about it, the above sounds like an April Fools joke or a hoax. Anyone else ever hear of this guy?

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:27:31 -0800

I don't know what Benny Perkins is up to nowadays, but someone should hire him to narrate audiobooks. strangeleftydoublethink wrote: ** spoiler ** My favorite part of the documentary was the Christian woman who listened to Christian music/tapes to inspire her to stay strong. She was doing well until she got so inspired she lifted both hands toward the heavens... Watching last night, I was really looking forward to this, but they failed to catch it on camera. They failed to catch quite a few key moments, in fact, but that didn't stop it being a great documentary. I think my favourite moment came when the film-maker, who presumably hadn't been sleeping much himself, completely cracked up while trying to interview the religious lady, who was in the middle of a crazy hooting session. Also, I'm curious as to the fate of the young woman who was paranoid and pretty obviously hallucinating for hours before she quit - the organisers just let her wander off into the night, unable to speak, with no shoes, and her brain in pieces.

By: Tube

Tube — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:34:33 -0800

I bet David Blaine could win that truck.

By: starman

starman — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:04:18 -0800

I love that they can't take their gloves off because the it could damage the paint, while the contests mentally and physically crumble away...

By: starman

starman — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:05:07 -0800

Dang... pulled?

By: clockworkjoe

clockworkjoe — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:53:19 -0800

Damn. I've seen this before but I wanted to show it to others. :\